US Senate confirms Trump’s ambassador picks

Washington, Aug 4 (IANS) The US Senate has confirmed dozens of presidential appointments to senior positions, including three ambassadors who will be based in Europe, the media reported.

Former Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas will be the US ambassador to NATO, the Senate said in a statement on Thursday.

Hutchison, 73, served in the Senate for 20 years until she decided not to run in 2012, reports Politico news.

Another choice of President Donald Trump, Richard Wood Johnson IV was confirmed as the ambassador to the UK.

Johnson, whose father was president of pharmamaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, was a supporter of Jeb Bush in the race for the White House but switched allegiance to Trump in May 2016 and became a major fundraiser for the tycoon in the final stretch of the election campaign. He is the owner of the New York Jets American football team.

George Edward Glass will be ambassador to Portugal. Glass is owner of a firm in Oregon which purchases and operates apartment complexes and rental homes, and a Republican donor.

Lewis Eisenberg, a financier, was confirmed as envoy to Italy and San Marino, Politico reported.

On Wednesday, Trump withdrew his nomination of Jamie McCourt, a campaign donor and former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, to be ambassador to Belgium and resubmitted her name to the Senate to be envoy to France and Monaco instead.

However, the Senate did not confirm McCourt’s position on Thursday.